How Healthy Is Your Reading Diet? (I Enjoy a Junk Food Binge. . .)
How Do I Decide What to Read?
That’s something a few people have asked, and I don’t have a great answer.
Sometimes I get terrific recommendations from people I know. It’s always nice when that happens. Sometimes a particular title or — I’m not ashamed to admit it — a cover will catch my eye.
Sometimes I’m looking specifically for a series I can dive into. Sometimes I want to reread old favorites.
Mostly I look for books, primarily cozy mysteries, that will be entertaining and fun.
I don’t read very much contemporary literary fiction because so much of it simply demands more of me as a reader than I’m willing to give at this point in my life. Although I do make a point to pick one every couple months just to introduce something different into my reading diet. And I still re-read the occasional older piece of English literature (Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and their ilk).
But often I binge on the literary equivalent of junk food.
For me, that’s usually a cozy mystery book, or even better, a series, that presents interesting and entertaining characters and plots, but where the writing is (cough, cough) below par. Yes, despite having been a proofreader in a former existence, I can gloss over the occasional bad grammar or misused word if the rest of it is good enough. If the writing gets so bad that it comes between me and the story, I wave goodbye and move on to something else.
If you’re curious about how I categorize my reading, let me give a quick rundown of the most recent books in my Goodreads lineup.
The Miss Underhay mysteries, starting with Murder at the Dophin Hotel, by Helena Dixon — junk food
Posie Parker mysteries, starting with Murder Offstage, by LB Hathaway — healthy snack
The Rei Shimura series, starting with The Salaryman’s Wife by Sujata Massey — healthy meal
The Bones in the Attic by Robert Barnard — gourmet feast, a full dinner with dessert
In real life, I almost never eat junk food, but I devour junk books — if I find the characters engaging enough.
How about you? Do you read “junk food” books?
If you’re wondering where my own book will fit in this list, I’m aiming for somewhere between a healthy snack and a healthy meal — more lighthearted than Sujata Massey (her books are definitely not cozies!), but at least as well written.
What I’m Reading This Week
At the moment I’m on Book 5 of the Posie Parker mystery series by L.B. Hathaway, Murder of a Movie Star.
Posie Parker is a private detective in London shortly after the end of the Great War. She’s lost both parents and her only brother. She’s gutsy, clever, and she’s seen a lot as an ambulance driver during the war.
She successfully solves cases, escapes bad guys, and makes a good life for herself with new friendships and romance. There are 13 books in the series, so far. Well worth reading so far.
I’ve been trying to update my profile on Goodreads and add little mini-reviews as I finish each book. You can follow me over there at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2357687-susanna.
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Notable Quotes
“I thought jeeringly of those tough-guy triathletes, the ones who aren't satisfied with making it a one-sport event. Oh, no! They have to cycle up the slopes of Kilimanjaro, parachute onto their dogsleds, and canoe down subterranean rivers with stalactites dropping like spears out of the bat-infested darkness. What these gluttons for punishment need is a day in the life of a mother on the go.
- Femmes Fatal by Dorothy Cannell
Last Week’s Poll
Last week I asked if you prefer to get this newsletter on a weekday, weekend, or you don’t care. The preference seems to be for a weekday, so I’ll continue to send them out, generally mid-week.